ArticleDie Naturwissenschaften2013
Negative correlation between nuptial throat colour and blood parasite load in male European green lizards supports the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis.
Article in Die Naturwissenschaften, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Structural colours reflect individual quality: a meta-analysis.Biology letters · 2020Pooled it
- Spatial, Temporal, and Host-Specificity Patterns of Three Genera of Blood Coccidian Parasites in Two Syntopic Mediterranean Lizards.Integrative zoology · 2026Article
- Microorganisms in wild European reptiles: bridging gaps in neglected conditions to inform disease ecology research.International journal for parasitology. Parasites and wildlife · 2025Review
- Article
- Immune challenge affects reproductive behaviour in the guppy (Royal Society open science · 2023Article
- Environmental conditions and male quality traits simultaneously explain variation of multiple colour signals in male lizards.The Journal of animal ecology · 2022Article
- Beyond illness: Variation in haemosporidian load explains differences in vocal performance in a songbird.Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Phenological and intrinsic predictors of mite and haemacoccidian infection dynamics in a Mediterranean community of lizards.Parasitology · 2021Article
- Evolutionary history of mental glands in turtles reveals a single origin in an aquatic ancestor and recurrent losses independent of macrohabitat.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Linking behavioral thermoregulation, boldness, and individual state in male Carpetan rock lizards.Ecology and evolution · 2020Article
- Relationship between oxidative stress and sexual coloration of lizards depends on thermal habitat.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2019Article
- Sexual dichromatism and color diversity in the spiny lava lizard Tropidurus spinulosus using lizard visual modelling.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Manipulation of parasite load induces significant changes in the structural-based throat color of male iberian green lizards.Current zoology · 2018Article
- Opposed elevational variation in prevalence and intensity of endoparasites and their vectors in a lizard.Current zoology · 2018Article
- A structural colour ornament correlates positively with parasite load and body condition in an insular lizard species.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2016Article
- Morphological and molecular characterization of Karyolysus--a neglected but common parasite infecting some European lizards.Parasites & vectors · 2014Article
- Article
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5 authors.
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Abstract
During female mate choice, conspicuous male sexual signals are used to infer male quality and choose the best sire for the offspring. The theory of parasite-mediated sexual selection (Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis) presumes that parasite infection can influence the elaboration of sexual signals: resistant individuals can invest more energy into signal expression and thus advertise their individual quality through signal intensity. By preferring these males, females can provide resistance genes for their offspring. Previous research showed that nuptial throat colour of male European green lizard, Lacerta viridis, plays a role in both inter- and intrasexual selections as a condition-dependent multiple signalling system. The aim of this study was to test the predictions of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis on male European green lizards. By blood sampling 30 adult males during the reproductive season, we found members of the Haemogregarinidae family in all but one individual (prevalence = 96%). The infection intensity showed strong negative correlation with the throat and belly colour brightness in line with the predictions of the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis. In addition, we found other correlations between infection intensity and other fitness-related traits, suggesting that parasite load has a remarkable effect on individual fitness. This study shows that throat patch colour of the European green lizards not only is a multiple signalling system but also possibly acts as an honest sexual signal of health state in accordance with the Hamilton-Zuk hypothesis.
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